General Motors on Monday gave a first official glimpse of the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV—and, perhaps more notably, its revised interface.
The image and brief video clip released confirm what Green Car Reports had already seen in person at a no-cameras preview of upcoming EVs in March—that the Bolt EUV will closely follow what’s called the Buick Velite 7 in China (pictured just below).
2021 Buick Velite 7
The EUV isn’t radically different in design. Versus the current Bolt EV, expect a little more lower-body cladding to nudge this small car a little closer to the look of GM’s current crossovers, some contouring changes to the sheetmetal throughout, slimmer headlights and a more flowing front fascia, plus about 3 inches of extra wheelbase and an elongated roofline for more interior space.
As observed and noted in the March preview, from Bolt chief engineer Jesse Ortega, the 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV will have more cargo and passenger space—and better seats all around—versus the current versions of the Bolt EV, but it still won’t have all-wheel drive or a larger battery. Ortega also confirmed that both models will get the revamped infotainment system and streamlined dash layout shown here—plus a new button-activated one-pedal-driving mode replacing the current ‘L’ mode.
Also, the 2022 Bolt EUV will be the first GM model outside of the Cadillac brand to offer its Super Cruise driver-assistance system. The 2022 Bolt EV will be receiving many of these same improvements, but from what we can tell Super Cruise will be an EUV exclusive.
The brief video above, also released by GM Monday, shows one thing that wasn’t detailed then—that the 2022 Bolt EUV will provide drivers “more EV insight” with a revamped power-flow screen that includes data on regenerative braking use and battery charge level. That could add more precise numbers for things like state of charge that have been lacking from the current interface since the Bolt’s 2017 introduction.
According to Ken Morris, GM’s VP for electric and autonomous vehicles, the company is now looking to hire 3,000 more positions for IT and software, as it transitions to providing a “software as a service” model for vehicles on the Ultium platform.
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV
How do these two pieces of GM’s electric future, released the same day, fit together? While we know the Bolt EV and EUV will continue with their current battery technology, it’s unclear if the Bolt family’s new interface hints to the future or reflects an evolving data strategy.
Morris, in a quick Q&A session accompanying the software announcement, declined to elaborate to GCR on how the new software push might manifest in the interface available to customers, how GM is approaching data privacy or visualization in its upcoming models and Ultium battery system (led by the GMC Hummer EV), or how the Bolt EUV’s revised power-flow screens might bridge that gap to the new vehicles.
Stay tuned for more, as GM CEO Mary Barra is due to speak more about the top-level strategy this week. The Bolt EUV will be built alongside the Bolt EV at GM’s Lake Orion assembly plant in Michigan, and due to arrive in summer 2021.
